Director's Note

Commitment to improve public health through medical research is not only our job at NIDDK—it’s a central tenet of our philosophy, and one worthy of personal sacrifice to achieve. Nowhere is this philosophy more evident than in three brave NIDDK employees who recently returned from service in West Africa.

The staff—Michelle Braun, Michael Davis and Megan Mattingly—each spent two months treating and preventing Ebola in Liberia, a country that had already lost more than 4,400 people to the disease. As you can read about in this issue, all three are both U.S. Public Health Service officers and NIDDK staff, with specific skills and experiences that enabled them to treat people who had been infected. Coming from NIH with a research focus, they brought a unique perspective to address the crisis. Their efforts helped improve understanding of Ebola.

Our staff at home also embody this culture of service. As you can read about later in this edition, Dr. Marva Moxey-Mims, deputy director for clinical science in the NIDDK Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases and a pediatric nephrologist, serves and advocates for some of the most vulnerable among us. Her specialized work includes overseeing grants and trials to treat kidney diseases in children, including the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children study, which is already providing valuable information about how to address complex kidney-related health issues.

NIDDK heralds the hard work and dedication of all our staff and the researchers we fund. We salute and support those engaged in humanitarian efforts on the front lines of public health. Working together, we as public servants strive to advance knowledge that will lead to better health, for our country and the world.

In good health,
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P.
Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases